By Darien May, Sports Talk Philly Writer 
We’re back at it again folks! With opening night only days away I figured I’d put together a preview on how I believe the 2016-2017 season will shake out but first let’s discuss how we got here. So, where do I start? Our beloved 76ers were unquestionably dreadful last season. Aside from the pure lack on basketball talent on the court, nothing seemed to go our way last season. The 76ers managed to win just 10 games last season ranking them as the third worst team of all time, missing the all-time worst mark by just three losses. Also being among the league’s leaders in blown 4th quarter leads. The one semi-bright spot, Jahlil Okafor, couldn’t get it together either. Between his defensive indecencies, his off court shenanigans and untimely season ending knee injury the season couldn’t come to an end sooner. Oh, I forgot to mention that the 76ers also set the record for most consecutive losses for any United States professional sports team, ever.
#76ers have set NBA record with 27 straight losses, dating back to last season. Have started 0-17 in each of the past two seasons.
— Michael Lee (@MrMichaelLee) November 28, 2015
But it’s a new year and a new day, it was tough watching our boys be laid to waste night in and night out but it was worth it, right?
The Off-Season:
We’ve been “Trusting The Process” for three plus years now and it now looks like our patience is finally being rewarded. After laying Sam Hinkie to rest in April, it seems like our luck might just start taking a turn for the better. Having missed out on the number one overall pick for two years running, the ping pong balls bounced our way for the first time since 1996. The culmination of Sam Hinkie’s dream had finally been realized, we were going to get our guy. The 76ers selected Ben Simmons with the number one overall pick, which of whom was widely regarded as the best prospect in said draft. Shortly after, the 76ers made three veteran free agent signings. They secured Jerryd Bayless, Gerald Henderson and Sergio Rodriguez on extremely team friendly contracts. But, for most, these events all took a backseat to the emergence of a healthy Joel Embiid and the migration of Dario Saric.
The rumor mill for a 76ers fan can be a very unforgiving place, so one could become very guarded and naturally jaded when it came to Embiid and Saric. The main reason being that these two players are the cornerstones that helped coin the term “Trust The Process”. Both draftees having come with some undesirable asterisks. Embiid who was drafted post-surgery with a broken navicular bone was already slated to miss 4-6 months; Saric was drafted in the lottery with the notion of being a draft and stash project. Fast forward to the summer of 2016. Two surgeries later, Embiid is seemingly healthy and Dario has finally decided to come over and join the 76ers. After much anticipation, these assets will finally be realized. So let’s review this off-season’s major additions. The 76ers added two generational talents in Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid, a dark horse Rookie of the Year candidate in Dario Saric and three capable veterans in Bayless, Henderson and Rodriguez.
Season Outlook:
Ben Simmons went down with a Jones fracture and his subsequent surgery is requiring him to miss at the very least 2-3 months. On top of that, Noel and Okafor are each still trying to recover from their own respective injuries, as well as Bayless having not yet suited up due to injury. Many thought that any vitality and glamour that the 76ers season could’ve had was now null and void. Those people couldn’t be more wrong. Why? Because, Joel Embiid. This young man has been a sight for sore eyes. Embiid has been far and away the most impressive rookie to present himself in this year’s preseason. For a player who played little to no basketball in high school, not even a full year in college and then to sit out for 2.5 years his play has been phenomenal. While he is still very raw, long term health is still a concern and needs to work on improving his stamina, his numbers have been staggering. See stat line below.
Joel Embiid's preseason per-36 numbers…
27.9 points
14.7 rebounds
2.1 blocks
55.2 TS%
20.3 FGA
44.8 FG%
11.5 FTA
81.8 FT%
*14.7 MPG
*7 GP— max (@MaxRappaport) October 22, 2016
Dario Saric has also impressed. While he doesn’t do anything great, he does a copious amount of things really well. A real Jack of All Trades that will likely see a bevy of playing time due to the absence of Ben Simmons. As cliché as it sounds he really does do all the “little things”, everything that doesn’t show up in a stat line, Dario takes pride in doing.
Dario Saric Preseason Highlights ⤵️
21 MPG / 10.2 PPG / 44.9 FG% / 4.5 RPG pic.twitter.com/naJqXdAb2C
— Philadelphia 76ers (@Sixers) October 24, 2016
If you can put any sort of positive spin on all of the ailments plaguing on this team it’s that Embiid and Saric will have an ample of amount of time to mesh on and off the court. Only strengthening the core of the future of this franchise.
Now, I’m not going to kid myself here, the 76ers are going to be bad again but it’s going to be a different kind of bad this season. This season’s ineptitude will have a different feel to it. Those of us who watched the 76ers night in and night out know that they actually played most teams actually rather competitively. Coach Brown is an astute motivator who got the most out of what he was given. This team just couldn’t put it together in the end given the lack of experience and talent. They even pushed the soon to be 73-9 Warriors to the brink, requiring Harrison Barnes to seal the deal with a corner jumper in the waning moments. Now, imagine what Coach Brown can do with competent talent. I’m not saying to expect forty wins or a playoff berth but you can definitely expect these players to compete at level we haven’t seen since 2013. Couple that with Ben Simmons’ returning sometime near the all-star break and all is not lost. The 76ers are building something special here, I hate to use the idiom “It’s like beating a dead horse” but we have to be patient. This will be a polarizing year; we will witness the growth of future superstars first hand.
Potential Breakout Year
Richaun Holmes. I think it’s a fair assessment when I say he is one of the more tantalizing prospects on this roster. Having had a great showing in both the Summer League and Preseason I believe he is slated for a big year and his stock is only rising. While minutes will be somewhat of an issue I believe he holds the key to forcing Colangelo’s hands when it comes to clearing out that log jam of big men. If he plays to his potential you will most definitely see Noel or Okafor shipped out sooner rather than later.
Best Case Scenario:
- Embiid continues to impress and goes throughout the season unscathed, making a strong case for Rookie of the Year.
- Ben Simmons returns from injury in January/February, finishes without re-aggravating his fifth metatarsal.
- Holmes and Saric emerge as strong players and viable options thus alleviating confusion on big man log jam. Resulting in the trade of Okafor or Noel.
Worst Case Scenario:
- Embiid goes down with another season ending injury
- Simmons is held out the entire year
- Noel and Okafor are both still on the team come April.
Darien May's Potential Record Guess:
23-59
14th Place, Eastern Conference
Conclusion:
Don't let the National Media mold your opinion on this team, the 76ers are on their way. Our young core is materializing right before our very eyes and we have positioned ourselves to to make a lot of noise in years to comes. Stay tuned.
